solid website design

A lot of people today are looking to design their own website but aren’t sure how to go about it. As in most areas in life, proper education is key to creating a good site. The information in the following article offers great advice to anyone just starting out in web design.

Keep your page sizes to a minimum. Not everyone online has a fast connection, and if your website takes too long to load, people will lose interest. You don’t want people to have to abandon your site because the pages won’t load.

Never allow dated or irrelevant content to remain on your website. If you’re talking about events that happened a year ago, you are behind the times. Users are going to want to spend time on websites that have been cared for, and when old information is kept up it shows that the site is not being paid attention to. Set a schedule to review the site, to ensure that outdated information is removed, and fresh new content is added in its place.

Try using a newsletter for getting repeat visitors. Letting customers subscribe to updates and new information can keep them coming back. Stick the sign-up form in a spot that’s out of the way, such as in a sidebar, and keep good records of those who sign up. Make sure you only send off the newsletter to people that want it, or you’re sure to find yourself in some trouble.

Utilize the software out there that doesn’t cost you a thing when you are designing your own site. There is a pervasive myth that expensive programs do the job of web design better than the alternatives, but there is plenty of free software that does a great job. A basic Internet search should produce a number of free design programs from which you can choose.

Always provide site visitors with an option to offer feedback. This will help you recognize mistakes in your design and give you the opportunity to fix them. If you actively seek your visitors’ feedback and make changes as a result, your visitors will feel like active participants in your site. This will encourage them to keep visiting the site.

The types of files that you use for the graphics on your website will affect the size of the files, which will also affect how fast your website loads. You are better off keeping the graphics to the normal GIFs and JPEGs so it loads smoothly. PNG and BMP files take up a ton of bandwidth. You can convert the larger graphics into a more manageable size to help your viewers have a better user experience.

Include text content on your link page. Links with content are easier to view for your visitors and help them know exactly what they will be clicking on. When there is no text content on the link, a keyboard shortcut could be stumbled on.

Information is the seed of every great website. You now have plenty of information to get your new website started. The following simple tips and tricks are going to help you build a nice site. Use the tips located above to help you develop and design your own website.